a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a switch attachment structure for an electric appliance such as an electric lighting apparatus.
b) Prior Art
One example of conventional switch attachment structure for an electric appliance is illustrated in FIG. 7, in which one of outer shells 102 that construct a pillar 101 is provided with an attachment frame 104 having a through-hole 103, into which is inserted a switch 105 so that it may be retained by the attachment frame 104. With the structure thus made, the switch 105 is kept retained by the attachment frame 104 during the assembly of the appliance, thus enhancing assembling efficiency.
According to the conventional switch attachment structure, however, one end of a lead wire must be connected to a terminal of the switch 105 with the switch 105 being attached to the attachment frame 104, or with the lead wire being inserted beforehand into the through-hole 103, or otherwise, the lead wire with its one end attached beforehand to the switch 105 must be first inserted into the through-hole 103 and then the other end thereof must be connected to electrical elements such as a circuit board or a socket. Accordingly, there has been a considerable room for improvement from a standpoint of assembling efficiency.
On the other hand, if the main body of a certain electric appliance is constructed by assembling at least two outer shells together, a switch might be able to be attached to the main body by clamping the switch between the two outer shells. In this case, although it is possible to attach the switch to the main body after the switch, the lead wire and the electrical elements are connected to one another, the switch is not retained during the assembling work, and thus there has also been a room for improvement from a standpoint of assembling efficiency.
To eliminate the above-mentioned problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a switch attachment structure for an electric appliance which is simple but is able to provide a good assembling efficiency.
To attain the object, there is provided a switch attachment structure for an electric appliance, which comprises: a main body constructed by combining at least two outer shells together, one of said outer shells being provided with a through-hole defined therethrough; an attachment frame formed around an outer periphery of said through-hole; a switch attached to said attachment frame; an electrical element mounted to said main body; and a lead wire for electrically connecting said switch to said electrical element, wherein a part of said attachment frame is formed with a cutout, said cutout being filled by the other of said outer shells when said outer shells are combined together.
According to the structure thus made, it is possible to insert the lead wire from the cutout into the through-hole while mounting the electrical element to one of said outer shells, with the switch, the lead wire and the electrical element being connected together beforehand, and then to insert the switch into the through-hole from the outside of the one of said outer shells so as to retain the switch by the attachment frame, and finally to combine the other of said outer shells to the one of said outer shells to thereby fill the cutout.
From another aspect of the invention, there is provided a switch attachment structure for an electric appliance according to the foregoing aspect, wherein said cutout has a width at least equal to a thickness of said lead wire.
Accordingly, the lead wire can be easily inserted into the through-hole, without forcing the same into the cutout during the assembling work.